Brother Donggong

It was almost midnight, I hurried to Yuxi Palace, and as soon as I entered, I saw my mother sitting next to Cui Bicheng, holding a bowl of thick black concoction and feeding old Cui with a dull face. Small tandoor decoction.When my mother saw me coming in, her face was not particularly ugly.

She stared at me and asked me, "You son of a bitch, my mother told you to go to the Shouchun Palace. You boy will not go there alive. Where did you go to mess around? Why did you come back with such a disgraced face? What is wrong with your face?" What's the matter? Where did the walking criminal stumble, or was he beaten by someone?"

Lin Ruoqian over there raised his eyes and looked at me when he heard that, I quickly covered it with my sleeve and said to him, "I just came from the East Palace, His Highness woke up, he called you to come over."

My mother stopped doing it as soon as she heard it, "You said you just came from the East Palace, so what happened to your face?"

I ignored her and said to the sluggish Lin Ruoqian, "Be careful, the weather is dry these days, don't mess with him, and save him from doing this to you."

Lao Lin rolled his eyes left and right, and muttered in a low voice, "It's only for you, he doesn't care so much about others..."

My mother seemed to hear, "Old Lin, what did you say?"

Lin Ruoqian was stunned for a moment, looked at her, then at me, I pouted at him, telling him to go quickly, he immediately stood up, made a long bow with both hands, and bowed to the end, "His Royal Highness, Your Majesty, Xiaguan will go to the East Palace first, and will come later."

Then, without waiting for my mother to speak, I quickly slipped away.

As soon as I saw him leave, I sat aside and said to my mother, "Mother, don't make such a fuss, it looks so undignified."

"Don't play tricks on me!" My mother knocked the bowl in her hand on the wooden table, and she pointed at me, "Tell me, what's the matter with your face?"

I said, "What else can I do, I've contradicted the prince..."

I wanted to continue persuading her, but my mother was more sensible than me, so she immediately gave up.She looked left and right, and with a wave of her hand told those people to back away as far as they could.

She leaned close to Cui Bicheng's dull face, crying and said, "Bizi, aunt, I'm sorry for not taking good care of you, your grandpa and your father are gone, so I entrusted you to me, if you have a There are three good things and two bad things, if my aunt closes her eyes, she won't be able to explain to the ancestors of the old Cui family... woo woo, woo woo woo woo woo woo..."

My mother was crying and rubbing her eyes hard with my sleeve, I quickly persuaded her, "Hey, hey, I said my mother, take it easy, there are people outside, you cry like this people joke."

"Mother, looking at Bizi like this, mother feels uncomfortable..."

She howled again, then suddenly lowered her voice and asked me, "Son, tell mother the truth, is Bizi really stupid?"

Before I spoke, Cui Bicheng couldn't take it anymore, he bared his teeth and said, "Auntie, even if the prince is stupid, I can't be stupid, I'm very good."

Concubine Cui took a deep breath, stroked her chest and said, "Amitabha Buddha, Buddha of Infinite Life, that's good, that's good."

My mother wiped her nose with her sleeve again, she grabbed my collar and pulled me over.

Me, my mother, Cui Bicheng, the three of us meet head to nose, nose to nose, like three mice.

My mother said, "In a moment, you two can do whatever I ask you brothers to do."

Me, "Mom?"

Old Cui, "Auntie..."

My mother acted right, and suddenly gave orders, "Chengzi, I didn't blame you. You usually eat nonsense all day long, and don't care about anything else. You have only been out of the palace for a few days. The slaves in Yuxi Palace were originally not suitable. I did. Eh,..."

She sighed as she spoke, and put the bowl on the wooden table.

"Two people who came in outside were still panting, they were a little stronger, and brought Cui Bicheng back to the Shouchun Palace."

Before the voice fell, a few people came in from outside, Cui Bicheng immediately recovered his demented look, I watched them bow their heads obediently, lifted the chair Cui Bicheng was sitting on, and carried it steadily to my mother's Shouchun Palace.

When we got here, it was my mother's territory. She asked people to take the silver and send away those who carried Cui Bicheng, and removed all the white cloth belts from Cui Bicheng's body.

At this time, she took a cloth bag, and it seemed that there were some scattered silver taels in it, which could be spent immediately.

She said to the two of us, "Listen, I have prepared some silver and two tokens here, enough for you to get out of Yongjing City. Remember to change into homespun clothes and pretend to be peasant disciples as soon as you go. Your accent is so good. In other words, if you want to speak the local dialect of Ranzhuang, don't speak the official language of Yongjing, just pretend that the two of you have never left your hometown Ranzhuang in your life. As long as you leave Yongjing at night, Bizi has her own private money outside, which is enough You two have been using it for a while. Just go, plow and hunt, do a small business, live as you please, and don’t go back to Yongjing. After this period, I will send someone to look for you, when the time comes Let's talk again."

I,"……"

She found two eunuch clothes for me and Cui Bicheng, "Put on these clothes, and I will send you out with gold and silver tickets later."

Gold and silver tickets are my mother's confidantes, and they are all female officials in the Shouchun Palace.

They were originally the servants of the harem. When our mother and I lived in the side hall at the beginning, they were accused of serving my mother who had no background because of their ugly appearance and lack of money. A nobleman with a bad background and no future at all.

Unexpectedly, after so many years, my mother got better and better, and they also ascended to heaven with chickens and dogs.

After my mother became rich, she discovered that in fact, people who don't eat for free have gold and silver bills.Jin Zi is sociable, so popular that she doesn’t even bark the guard dog when she walks into a courtyard; With her here, even if I don't have a lot of money, my mother still needs pocket money.

Asking them to send me and Cui Bicheng out of the palace, my mother is relieved, but I am puzzled.

Cui Bicheng turned his tightly bound leg, and then began to change the eunuch's clothes by himself. I pulled my mother's sleeve and asked her to come aside with me.

"Mother, you are letting me and Cui Bicheng flee to the end of the world. There is no disaster or disaster. Don't you think you are too ridiculous?"

"Turtle son, you know what a fart!" My mother glared at me, "I told you a long time ago that the chair in the Dazheng Palace is not your share, so don't think about it!"

"Who would have thought? I'm the eldest prince, a majestic prince. Even if I can't be an emperor, I can't be a fugitive! Besides, the whole world is a king's land. According to your thinking, Cui Bicheng and I have to flee to the open sea. Or go directly to the neighboring country to close the country, otherwise you will not be able to hide anywhere. I may never come back in this life, and I will never see you again, my mother, you have to tell me what's going on .”

My mother took my hand and squeezed it hard, "Son, mother doesn't want to do this either. But mother really can't say too much. Let's put it this way, you just need to tell mother the truth. ...with the prince?"

I,"……"

My tongue tied, and after a while, I shook my head.

Then say, "I made it clear to him, and he let go."

My mother sneered and said, "You don't understand, he won't let go, never will. Mother can only plan for the worst for you, and you can only fly away."

I,"……"

I couldn't argue with her about this matter, so I said, "Return Yin Qiluo. What will she do when Cui Bicheng and I leave like this? There are still those crooked melons and bad dates in my palace. , I'm not a bachelor, I can eat enough for one person and the whole family won't be hungry, you have to let me cook for a few days."

My mother bowed her head, unloaded the things from her waist, and said, "I can't take care of them now. Miss Yin's father is a feudal official. He doesn't seek rebellion, doesn't support himself, and the prince won't hurt her. As for those people in your palace, I'll take care of it."

"Mother, at least tell her. Her father originally set up a family for her, but the son of that family died as soon as he landed. Her father let her guard him for more than ten years. When this happened this time, her father may not be sure. Do something stupid."

My mother nodded, "Leave her affairs alone, with my mother here, I won't wrong her."

Then he said, "Chengzi, come, take this thin knife and put it in your shoes. You may have to search your body when you go out later, in case someone secretly takes the good things in the palace out of the palace gate and sells them for money. This knife The Thin Knife is Mother's old thing, I brought it with you, firstly as a thought, secondly it can be used for self-defense."

I took the small thin knife that my mother handed over——

A knife, about an inch and a half long, as thin as a cicada's wing.The place where my mother is holding the knife is wrapped with fine silk. Maybe she often took it out to rub it. Some of those places are old and the color has faded, revealing a row of thin serrations on the back of the knife, like the teeth of a wild wolf.

This is……

This is the throat-cutting knife Tiqi used 20 years ago in Fenghua!

"Mom!" I exclaimed, "Why do you have this thing!"

My mother was about to say something when the gold and silver bills outside had already entered the main hall of the Shouchun Palace, and the gold said, "Your Majesty, hurry up, or it will be too late. The gate of the Forbidden Palace is changed in secret, and the original guards are not allowed to use it." , The people who are replaced are all people who have never seen before, and I don’t know where they came from.”

My mother stopped talking to me, she gave the knife to Jin Jin, and said hastily, "Quick, change your highness' clothes. Put this knife in his shoe."

Over there, Cui Bicheng has already changed his clothes, because his leg is still not healed, so he can't remove the wood that Lin Ruoqian tied him, otherwise he won't be able to be a cripple in the future, he should be paralyzed.

Jin Jin thought of a way. He wiped the corners of Lao Cui's mouth and eyes with safflower juice, and then tore his clothes. If Jin Jin was not at the same age as my mother, Lao Cui would not Shouting 'indecent' is not allowed.Jin Jin poured the safflower juice on Lao Cui's clothes again, and made him lie on the ground, pretending to be a eunuch who passed out from whipping.

People killed people in the harem, and the sea of ​​people who died secretly went away, and no one would take a second look.Curious people are all dead, and the rest are either murderers or indifferent people.

Jin Jin and Yin Piao found a broken mat to wrap up Old Cui, tied it with a rope, put a wooden stick on it, and called two stronger young eunuchs to come and carry it, and then walked outside.

I am now beyond confused.

But my usually confused old lady is sober today and can no longer be sober.

Her decisiveness made me think of my father inexplicably.

Almost exactly the same.

When I left the Shouchun Palace, I looked back at her. She was standing by the gate of the palace, twisting the handkerchief embroidered with cherry blossoms in both hands. My heart felt warm and I wanted to hug her, so I stopped and turned back. But my mother took a look at me, wiped herself in, and asked someone to gently close the gate of Shouchun Palace.

There are only two closed palace gates in front of me, as well as the vermilion walls and black glazed tiles, showing a thick black under the dim moonlight.There is dew that grows in the night on the tiles, and the tiles are covered with a shiny luster.

As soon as we arrived at Xuanwu Gate, the defenders stopped us.

As usual, ask which palace gate, do you have a waist card when you go out at this time, and you are ordered to do business when you go out of the palace, so on whose order, what business do you do?

Gold answered one by one.

She took out her badge and handed it to the guard. The guard looked at the badge, saluted repeatedly, and said, "So it's the aunt of Concubine Pei's Jingxiang Palace. Then you left the palace this time on the order of Concubine Pei." ?”

At this time, the banknote moved forward, and a gold cake in his hand rubbed against the defender's sleeve. The man understood and took the gold.

Yin Piao smiled, his round face and small eyes narrowed, a sense of joy arose in his heart.

"Brother Defender, please drink tea with your brothers. Don't ask about our affairs, okay?"

The defender looked at me for a while, and he couldn't see clearly, then he walked over slowly, lifted the mat covering Cui Bicheng's body, compared to seeing a dead eunuch bleeding from seven orifices, he hurriedly put down the corner of the mat.

He really didn't ask anything. He thought he had seen too many harem masters lynching and beating slaves to death, afraid of trouble, destroying corpses and destroying traces in the middle of the night, so he was not surprised.

He just came over and said to the banknotes, "You guys go."

As soon as the defender raised his hand, he shouted, "Let go!"

The Xuanwu Gate opened slowly in the night.

We leave slowly.I couldn't help thinking in my heart, so, today is the day I completely leave the Dazheng Palace, completely leave this deeply oppressive place that has entangled my love and hatred all my life?

From today on, don't I pray that Wang Chengyi will remain anonymous for the rest of her life and be an ordinary peasant boy from Ranzhuang?

Why does it feel so wrong?

Once outside, Jin Jin said softly, "Your Highness, let's go for a year and a half first, don't come back in a hurry, the empress will look for you."

I nodded.

There were actually two horses outside the gate of the palace. I took Cui Bicheng out of the mat, and he jumped on the horse, holding the rein. I put the money my mother gave me in my arms and got on the horse. I just said to the gold and silver bills, "Look at the weather, the south gate of Yongjing is about to open. We just left the city in the past. Come back."

The gold and silver bills were about to return to the palace, when suddenly there was a storm of horseshoes around them, and they rushed from the forbidden palace with a mighty momentum!The majestic Xuanwu Gate was pulled open suddenly, and the sound of heavy weapons and furious fast horses trampling on the bluestone bricks of Taisho Palace made the original misty summer night reveal a kind of bone-chilling cold.

It was the breath of death.

"Oops! Let's go!"

The silver ticket pulled out the dagger in its sleeve and stabbed at the buttocks of my horse. The horse was startled, gave a manic long neigh, flipped its front hooves, and almost stood up straight from the ground, then suddenly fell to the ground and scattered. With four hoofs open, it rushed out like a sharp arrow off the string!Cui Bicheng quickly grabbed the reins, clamped the horse's belly with his legs, and followed me closely.

This is the time when everyone is asleep.

Except for those who were hysterical in the middle of the night, even those who ate too much to support themselves, those who drank flower wine, and those who got up early to walk their dogs were all nestled under the quilt to hold their corpses, and there was no one on the street.

It took less than half an hour from Dazheng Palace to the south gate of Yongjing. Cui Bicheng and I galloped fast. When we first arrived at the gate, the south gate of Yongjing was slowly opening. In a flash, those people didn't dare to go forward at all, and hurriedly helped me open the gate with a big wooden pestle, allowing Cui Bicheng and me to run away.

Old Cui is better at riding than me, but he has a lame leg, so he can't overtake me, but even so, he has never fallen behind me by a horse.After I finally got out of the city, I looked back at Cui Bicheng. I wanted to wink with him, but after this, we quickly got off the horse and changed our clothes. The guards chasing after Xuanwu Gate seem to have arrived at the city gate.

I don't know why, but they didn't come out. I told Cui Bicheng with gestures, I can't stop, and when I was about to hurry up, a huge flying arrow shot out of the sky towards Cui Bicheng!

This kind of arrow is nearly twelve feet long, and it is sent out from a carriage driven by a wheel. This is not a weapon for shooting people at all, it is used to penetrate the walls of the city when attacking the city.It is said that such a sharp arrow can penetrate the city wall, thread four soldiers into a string, and nail them to death on the city wall.

It was already too late for me to let him dodge, when the horse neighed shrillly, I almost closed my eyes, and said to myself, - it's over, it's over, Cui Bicheng's life is over!

I almost feel bad.

……

Suddenly, I heard a phrase in Ran Zhuang's dialect popping up from the ground, "Mother, I'm so fucking fucked up, I fell to your grandfather's death!"

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Cui Bicheng coming out from the side of the horse that had been smashed by an arrow. He was already bleeding from his seven orifices, but now his whole body was in a mess.

I reined in the horse, stared at him blankly for a long time, and let out a long breath this time, and muttered dejectedly, "What's wrong with this..."

At this time, a Xiongnu horse slowly passed by from the city gate, and there was a person sitting on it. I set up an awning with my hands and took a look, not to mention, it was still an acquaintance.

"Pei Tan? Lord Pei?!——When did you return to Yongjing?"

As soon as Pei Tan reined in his horse, he was calm and composed, and he didn't panic at all that he almost killed someone.

I pointed to him, and then pointed to Cui Bicheng who was crawling on the ground, "What are you doing, why can't you say something openly, if you insist on killing me, you are sick."

"My lord. The emperor's life is in my body, so I can't dismount to salute."

Pei Tan clenched his fists at me.

"What do you want?"

"My lord, please go back with me. In addition, Cui Bicheng's shopkeeper Cui is involved in a huge case, so he can't leave Yongjing for now."

I got off my horse and helped Cui Bicheng up, gave him the clean clothes I brought, and asked him to wipe his face and change his clothes first, then I said to Pei Tan, "I didn't think about it, my uncle's Qiqi arrived, Cui Bicheng and I want to Go back to my hometown to pay homage, and come back in three days."

Pei Tan didn't speak.

I gritted my teeth, and said shamelessly, "I told the prince, you go and ask him, he knows."

Pei Tan was actually unmoved, he just said coldly, "My lord, go back with me."

When I saw him, I knew that he was a guy who didn't like oil and salt, so he didn't talk too much. I expected that if he dared to shoot Cui Bicheng's horse, he might not dare to shoot my horse. I helped Cui Bicheng get on the horse, and I told Pei Tan said, "Anyway, I want to go back to Ranzhuang, you can kill me if you have the ability, and let me go if you don't."

Who would have thought that as soon as I got on the horse with the rein in my hand, Pei Tan said something, and I would immediately freeze up.

He said, "My lord, Concubine Cui Guifei has been stripped of her title and sent to prison. My lord, do you want to leave like this?"

I was startled, "What did you say? What's wrong with my mother?"

Pei Tan galloped over and said something that I couldn't refuse, "My lord, come back to Yongjing with me. Concubine Cui may still have a chance."